Landmark ruling: Meta does not have a social media monopoly

A federal court in the United States ruled in favor of the US company on Tuesday in a years-long legal dispute over Meta's alleged monopoly in social networks. In light of the increasing popularity of social media offerings such as the short video app TikTok, the presiding judge denied that Meta and its social media offerings like Facebook, Instagram, or WhatsApp hold an illegal monopoly.

The US antitrust authority, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), which initiated the proceedings (Case No. CV-03590-JEB), accuses Meta of holding a monopoly in the social media sector, particularly concerning social interaction between friends and family. In mid-April, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg testified in court for 13 hours in this case. The US trade supervisory authority wanted to force Meta to restructure or sell Instagram and WhatsApp. The FTC believed this would restore competition among social networks.

Not necessary, the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia essentially ruled. "The landscape that existed five years ago when the Federal Trade Commission filed this antitrust suit has changed significantly," U.S. District Judge James Boasberg argued in the ruling. "Meta does not have a monopoly in the relevant market," he wrote.

Lengthy proceedings

Meta had argued in court that acquiring companies instead of developing competing products was a legitimate business strategy. They claimed to have improved WhatsApp and Instagram and equipped them with new features. Furthermore, the FTC ignores the competitive pressure from rivals such as ByteDance's TikTok, Google's YouTube, or Apple's messaging app. Judge Boasberg followed this argument: "Even if YouTube is excluded, the inclusion of TikTok alone refutes the FTC's argument."

Meta expressed its satisfaction with the ruling. "Today's court decision recognizes that Meta faces fierce competition," a company spokesperson said in a statement quoted by various US media outlets.

Setback for the US government

For the FTC and the government in Washington, however, the decision is a severe setback. The antitrust proceedings against Meta were initiated during the first term of President Donald Trump.

Since 2023, the supervisory authority has been conducting separate antitrust proceedings against Amazon.com. The online retailer allegedly pressures customers into its paid Prime subscription with confusing and misleading designs and unfair methods, and makes cancellation difficult. At the end of September, a record fine was imposed against Amazon in this case. Furthermore, the US Department of Justice has filed lawsuits against Google and Apple.

• Statement of the Court in the Case FTC v. Meta Platforms

(akn)